Golden Girl
by Aeshdan
Summary: It only takes the tiniest push sometimes. When Cat Noir inspires Chloé to become a better person, it starts a chain of events that will bring the delicate equilibrium of Paris to an end.


"Lucky Charm!"

Cat Noir could barely hear his Lady's voice over the shriek of the chainsword. He leapt to the side as Primarch brought the weapon down in a vast sweep, and the blade bounced off the pavement, gleaming teeth chewing chips out of the asphalt and striking showers of sparks. He counter-attacked with a lightning-fast jab of his staff, which glanced off Primarch's helmet with a clang.

 _Got to keep him busy,_ thought Cat Noir as he jumped over another swipe of the humming chainsword and struck Primarch in the helmet again. It didn't seem to be doing any real harm, but it had to be incredibly distracting. The force of his own blow sent him into a backflip, and as he momentarily inverted he saw a blur of red as the Charm fell into his Lady's hands. Then he landed in a crouch, facing the akuma once more. Primarch lumbered toward him, chainsword held high.

"Cat!" yelled Ladybug, "Bug out!"

Chat leapt up and backwards as the chainsword came down again. He touched down on the roof of the building behind him and immediately leapt away again… mere seconds before a volley of rockets slammed into the building, blasting it to rubble.

Cat Noir winced internally as he leapt away from the fight, his Lady bounding through the night in front of him. It felt _wrong_ to leave any akuma to run rampant, and especially this one. Primarch was far from the scariest or most difficult akuma he and Ladybug had faced, but there were few that could rival him for the scale and brutality of the collateral damage.

Cat Noir was normally rather a fan of _Warhammer 40,000_. The sheer over-the-top absurdity of the setting amused him, and that tiny spark of hope and courage, the idea that even in the most grimdark of grimdark settings you could still fight, resonated with his own determination to be the one to stand up and fight. But when the weapons made to fight demons and monsters were turned against real civilians, it became considerably less entertaining.

Four or five rooftops later, Ladybug touched down, and Cat landed next to her.

"So, Milady," he asked, "Why'd we disengage? I shudder to think what damage Primarch's doing while we're over here."

Ladybug held up an octagonal box of black-spotted red. " _This_ was my Lucky Charm," she said, cracking the box open to reveal what was unmistakably a replica of his ring, in the same black-spotted red material as any other Charm.

Cat Noir blinked in surprise. "I hope that doesn't mean I am sup- _paw_ -sed to give you my ring," he said. "I trust you with it, of _claws_ , but still…"

Ladybug laughed. "Don't worry, kitty, it's quite the opposite. I think Tikki is telling us that not only will we need an ally for this fight, but that _you_ need to be the one to pick this time. You know where Master Fu's is?"

"Yes, Milady," replied Cat Noir, his mind racing.

 _If I specifically need to be the one to recruit this ally… There's one person who Ladybug would never in a million years pick, but I've been wanting to give her a chance ever since the Sapotis._

"You go to Master Fu's," said Ladybug. "Pick a Miraculous and an ally. I'll find a safe spot to detransform and recharge, then try and keep Primarch busy until you get back. Should be easy enough to find him." There was a tremendous boom, and a massive fireball erupted from a few blocks away.

"One thing this akuma is not is subtle," agreed Cat Noir. "See you soon, Milady."

"See you soon," replied Ladybug. "In the meantime, better put this to good use. Miraculous Ladybug!"

Cat Noir turned and leapt away into the night even as Ladybug tossed her Charm skywards, and swarms of sparkling magic ladybugs flew past him as he leapt from roof to roof.

* * *

As he touched down in front of Master Fu's shop, Cat Noir felt a surge of nerves. He knew he owed Master Fu more than he could ever imagine for giving him the Black Cat's Ring, but he still hadn't quite forgiven the old man for keeping him in the dark for so long. This would be awkward.

Still, there was no time to waste. He stepped forward and rapped on the door with gloved knuckles.

"Come in!" came the reply from within, and Cat Noir pushed the door open and stepped inside. Master Fu was sitting at a desk, drawing on what looked like a parchment scroll with a elaborate set of inks and brushes.

"Cat Noir," said Master Fu, looking up from his work. "What brings you here at this time of night?"

"Ladybug and I were fighting an akuma," said Cat Noir, "and when she called for her Lucky Charm, she got a box like the one you used to give me Plagg's ring, complete with a replica of the ring inside it. She thinks, and I agree, that we will need an additional hero for this fight. A hero that _I_ must be the one to choose."

Master Fu sighed, rising to his feet. "I have been expecting this ever since I explained matters to you after Syren," he said as he turned to fetch a stepstool. "There are no coincidences where the Ladybug and the Cat are concerned."

Master Fu placed the stepstool in front of his gramophone, climbed up onto it, and pressed a few buttons on the front of the gramophone. The horn rotated away, and the top split open to reveal what looked like a larger version of the octagonal box that had held Plagg's ring.

Master Fu settled into a cross-legged sitting position and set the box in front of him. "Cat Noir", he said as the box lid opened and drawers fanned out from the sides, revealing Miraculous after Miraculous. "pick an ally you can trust to fight alongside you in this mission. Once the mission is complete, you must retrieve the Miraculous and return it to me."

"I know just the person," said Cat, plucking the Bee Comb from where it rested in the top of the Miracle box.

* * *

As Cat Noir had more than half expected, Chloe was at her desk, glued to the screen of her computer as she frantically followed the fragmentary imagery of Primarch's rampage. The sheer destructiveness of the akuma's weaponry, and the glee with which he employed it, had forced even Paris's normally reckless paparazzi to keep their distance, and imagery on this akuma was even harder to come by than usual.

"Hello, _Purr-_ incess," said Cat Noir as he slipped in through the balcony door.

"Cat Noir?" Chloe blurted out, looking startled. "Thank God you're ok! What are you doing here? Is the akuma coming for me? I _swear_ , I didn't do _anything_ this time. I don't even know who this one really is!"

"Don't worry, I believe you," said Cat Noir with a smile. "No, I'm here for another reason entirely. You've played hero often enough, including a few times with me. Care for a chance at the real thing?"

Chloe's jaw dropped. "Wha… I…." she stuttered.

Cat produced the octagonal black box from one of his pockets. "Chloe Bourgeois," he said, voice shifting into a more formal tone. "This is the Miraculous of the Bee, which grants the power of subjection. You will use it for the greater good. Once the mission is complete, you must return the Miraculous to me. Can I trust you?"

Chloe's mouth snapped shut and she raised her chin, blue eyes flashing. "I won't disappoint you, Cat Noir," she said firmly.

"I know you won't," said Cat with a smile. He raised the lid of the box, revealing the Bee Comb for a half-second before it was occluded by an orb of golden light. The orb drifted up out of the box, then faded to reveal the striped form of the Bee Kwami.

"Hello, my Queen," said Pollen, performing a sort of midair curtsey in Chloe's direction.

Chloe stared at the tiny shape, bewilderment once more stamped across her features. "What… What _are_ you?" she stuttered.

"My name is Pollen," said the bee kwami, "and I am the kwami of the Bee Miraculous."

"Think of her as the spirit of the Miraculous," suggested Cat Noir. "We each have one, they're what actually makes us into superheroes. The Miraculous is just to facilitate the transformation."

The look of bewilderment faded from Chloe's face, but what replaced it was not her trademark sneer. Instead, her face shone with a blend of joy and awe. Cat Noir felt his heart leap. It had been far too long since he had seen that particular expression on the face of his childhood friend, and he had almost forgotten how much he'd missed it.

Unfortunately, there was no time to savor it. "Focus, Chloe," he said, "Remember, Ladybug's counting on us to save Paris."

That did the trick. Chloe took the comb, and slid it into her hair with shaking hands.

"To transform, just say 'Pollen, Buzz on.'" said Cat Noir. "I'll explain the rest on the way."

Chloe took a deep breath, that same slightly disbelieving smile still on her face. "Pollen," she said, "Buzz on!"


End file.
